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The Supreme Court has sharply condemned the Uttar Pradesh government for unlawfully demolishing the homes of a lawyer, a professor, and several others in Prayagraj, highlighting a disregard for legal procedures.
A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and N Kotiswar Singh remarked that such actions send a disturbing message.
The Court on Wednesday stated, “After all, there is something known as Article 21 and Right to Shelter.”
The State’s counsel claimed that notices had been affixed at the properties before the demolitions.
However, the Court dismissed this as a mere technicality, stating it knew how to address such arguments.
Calling the state’s actions drastic and high-handed, the Court was hearing a plea filed by Advocate Zulfiqar Haider, Professor Ali Ahmed, and three others, whose houses were razed by authorities.
The petitioners argued that they were given demolition notices only a night before the action in March 2021.
Senior Advocate Abhimanyu Bhandari, representing the petitioners, highlighted an error by the authorities. He stated that they wrongly assumed the land belonged to gangster Atiq Ahmed, who was killed in 2023.
He urged the State to acknowledge its error.
The Court questioned why the notices were merely affixed rather than being served through courier, as required by law.
It emphasized that the demolished structures must be rebuilt.
“If you want to contest by filing affidavit then okay, else another less embarrassing way will be let them construct and then serve notices to them as per law,” the court noted.
Advocate Rohini Dua also represented the petitioners in the case.
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